While the 2024 Lok Sabha elections across India are being fought in the name of Lord Ram, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal evoked Hanuman as he stepped out of Tihar jail in Delhi after 50 days of imprisonment.
"I had promised you I will return. By the grace of Lord Hanuman, I have returned," Kejriwal said, addressing a massive crowd of supporters who brought traffic to a standstill outside Tihar.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief was released on interim bail granted by Supreme Court after he was arrested by Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with the excise policy case.
"I have a request. We have to save the country from dictatorship. I am fighting against it with all might," he said.
The AAP chief will be kicking off the election campaign in Delhi on Saturday with a visit to the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place before addressing a press conference at the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters.
The CM's address took place in the presence of senior AAP leaders like Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sai Ram and others.
Speaking to Outlook ahead of the release, Atishi said, "The release of Kejriwal is not just big news for the Aam Aadmi party, it is a big day for Indian democracy and constitution. BJP has left no stone unturned to turn India into a dictatorship. The way CBI and ED are being used against opposition, the way a sitting chief minister was arrested just before elections, this kind of thing only happens in dictatorships like Pakistan or Bangladesh or in African countries."
The Supreme Court granting interim bail to Kejriwal has given "hope to the whole country that the BJP's dictatorship is coming to an end," she added.
Speaking to Outlook earlier at the AAP Delhi headquarters, Delhi Health Minister and Delhi Jal Board Chief Saurabh Bharadwaj had said that arresting Kejriwal was a "strategic mistake of the BJP."
AAP karyakartas like Nisha Siddiqui from Chandni Chowk area state that the arrest led to more support for the party and the CM. "His release means the victory of Aam Aadmi."
Outside Tihar, AAP's Tuglaqabad MLA Sahi Ram was confident that the alliance will win all seven seats. "INDIA Alliance has won already."
Meanwhile, by evoking Hanuman, Kejriwal seems to be challenging the Hindutva narrative of the BJP, which has been hoping to cash in on the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. BJP supporters claim, "Jo Ram ko layenge, hum unko layenge."
This is not the first time that Kejriwal has evoked Hanuman. Speaking to media two weeks ago amid controversy over giving insulin to Kejriwal in prison, Saurabh Bharadwaj had said that Kejriwal is a "huge bhakt of Hanuman. He received insulin on the auspicious occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. This shows that whenever his devotees are in trouble, Hanumanji comes to their rescue."
On the day of Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya in January, AAP had conducted recitals of "Sundar Kand" across Delhi. Previously, the party has conducted regular Hanuman Chalisa paths across constituencies. In February 2020, the CM had sung Hanuman Chalisa himself when asked about his devotion to the deity.
The release of Kejriwal comes at a crucial time for INDIA alliance when Delhi Congress is in tatters due to the discontent among its supporters over alleged involvement of AAP in corruption charges. Recently, former Delhi Congress President Arvinder Singh Lovely joined BJP, citing moral grounds. Congress leader and MCD councillor Ariba Khan had earlier told Outlook that Kejriwal himself "invited this day (of his arrest) upon himself as he has wanted to put Congress leaders behind the bars through PMLA."
Experts feel that against this backdrop, Kejriwal's presence can be a force to unite and galvanise the scattered alliance partner.
